Something truly remarkable happened at RFK Stadium on Saturday night. In the 91st minute of D.C. United’s 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew, as Lewis Neal’s game-winning goal rolled into the back of the net, four years worth of pain, disappointment and missed opportunities seemed to melt away.
Gone was the memory of 2007’s disappointing early exit from the playoffs. Gone was 2008’s disastrous late-season collapse. That unspeakably bad 2010 campaign? Forgotten. And last season’s slow, painful end of the year burnout? What are you even talking about? As the final whistle blew, and the beer went flying, it was pure pandemonium at RFK. United, for the first time in nearly half a decade, had qualified for the playoffs. The sellout crowd, the electric atmosphere—these weren’t things that were lost on one of United’s most storied veterans, Head Coach Ben Olsen.
“That was great,” Olsen said after the match. “It was in a packed house. It was like the old days. I don’t like to bring up the old days very often, but the feeling in that building felt like the good old days here.”
Facing a Columbus team that needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, United entered the game needing only a draw in their last two games to qualify for the post-season. A win, however, would do much more—it would guarantee them at the very least a home playoff game, and would give the club the chance to finish out the season next week in Chicago playing for an automatic spot in the conference semi-finals.
The victory was anything but a cakewalk. Eddie Gaven put the visitors up with a seventh-minute goal, a strike that silenced the 19,647 in attendance. United would pull one back in the 38th minute, as midfielder Nick DeLeon would tally his sixth of the year—a new club record for a rookie player. Columbus, not to be outdone, struck again just two minutes later, as Jairo Arrieta hit a beautiful, bending ball from outside the box that deflected off of the right goalpost, taking an unfortunate bounce off of United keeper Bill Hamid’s outstretched heel.
Using a pair of goals from a couple of unlikely scorers, United roared back to life in the second half. Marcelo Saragosa got things started in the 59th minute, striking a one-timer from some 21 yards out. It was the Brazilian’s first MLS goal in almost four years, and he responded by sprinting toward United’s supporters while forming his hands into the shape of a heart, a celebration that he later revealed was a tribute to his father Gilson, who passed away earlier in the season at age 60. “I scored this goal with my heart,” Saragosa said.
As the game wore on, Columbus began throwing numbers forward in search of the game-winner they needed to keep their playoff hopes alive, and United made them pay for it on Neal’s playoff clincher. Defensive back Chris Korb played a long ball down the left flank to Branko Bošković. Bošković found Neal cutting inside off of the flank with an absolutely sublime, over-the-shoulder touch. As Neal calmly slotted the ball around an Columbus keeper Andy Gruenebaum, RFK exploded into full voice. Olsen, unable to contain himself, jumped up on the bench like a little kid, nearly tumbling off.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” an elated Neal said. “I don’t think we’ll realize how big of a win this was until we slept on it maybe a night and wonder whether we dreamed it or not.”
The win rounds out what’s been an unbelievable home season for United. After a narrow, 1-0 loss on opening day, the black and red were undefeated at home, going 12-0-4. United has also responded to the loss of reigning MLS most valuable player Dwayne De Rosario exceedingly well, going 5-0-1 since his injury. Once thought to be out for the season, De Rosario was spotted at practice earlier in the week doing some light running. On Saturday night, I couldn’t help but ask Olsen if he considers it a possibility that the team will have DeRo back for their playoff run.
“I would say there is probably a chance,” the coach said with a smile. “He’s progressing quickly. I’ve told my trainers and doctors—you tell me the day he is ready to go, because I got a job to do and we can’t rely on that. But it would sure be nice to see him back—because that means we’d be very, very deep into the playoffs.”
United finishes out the season on Saturday afternoon in Chicago (4 p.m., NBC Sports Network,) where the team will face a Fire squad that has just as much to play for as United does. A win guarantees United a spot in the conference semifinals—what’s more, if Sporting Kansas City loses its match Wednesday evening against the Philadelphia Union, United has the opportunity to finish atop the Eastern Conference table, something that was unthinkable six games ago, when the black and red were out of playoff contention altogether.
What a year it’s been.
